Pick up after your pooch on SLO’s trails

Regarding the article “To preserve and enjoy” (Insight, Nov. 7). As much as I enjoy hiking with my dogs (on a leash) at Johnson Ranch, it is not really preserving open space if no provision is made to encourage owners to pick up after their dogs.

When opening new trails to the public, the article states that it is San Luis Obispo’s top priority to protect the natural resources.

In a perfect world, dog owners would provide their own bags and tote the used bags home for disposal. As this is not the case, opening a nature preserve to dogs should include a doggie-bag dispenser and trash cans like the Bob Jones Trail in Avila Beach has. This will, of course, be an added expense, but we are not really protecting our resources if we allow dogs on open space trails without encouraging dog owners to pick up after them.